Harry Potter and the Year of Black
by Stokely
Summary: Harry Potter romance - Chapter 3 IS UP: Moonshade and Black - come have a lookie! It's about everything from classes to crushes (and quite a bit of snogging later) to Quidditch to Death Eaters.
1. Leaving Number Four

**Harry Potter and the Dead Sphere**

**By: Stokely**

_You are being forwarned. This is written to be like the books. There are long descriptions and lots of stuff that you wouldn't have gotten from the movies. This first chapter may seem a bit long but I thought it was good none the less. If you are merely looking for just another Harry Potter Romance, I suggest you look else where. Everyone who wants a (hopefully) good read, continue._

_For Ghada, who always loved my stories._

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**The Sorting Hat Disclaimer Song (feel free to sing along)**

**Before I begin, credit is owing**

**On the part of JK Rowling**

**She created Harry, Quidditch and more**

**I wrote this for simple amusement therefore**

**No profit was made and none is due**

**From readers and reviewers, that means you**

**Just for your information, just so you know**

**Claiming otherwise would bring about a nasty foe**

**And beatings ordered by the WB**

**Rival those done by the Whomping Willow Tree**

**So please keep in mind as you read**

**My heartfelt thanks and a desperate plea**

**To remember, I disclaimed and did no wrong**

**Except writing this abysmal song...**

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**Chapter one **

**Leaving Number Four**

The gentle rapping at his bedroom window finally woke him up. He watched with bright emerald eyes as the rain streaked down the window pane in an almost calming way. His index finger tapped his palm as his hand experienced the odd sensation of feeling like it was full of sand. He rolled over so that the arm that had fallen asleep could get blood circulating in it again and groped for his glasses before putting them on. Soon he'd swept back the bed sheets and he had gotten up, looking out his window onto the wet pavement of Privet Drive.

The dark laneway was glossy with water, and one of the lampposts flickered, casting eerie shadows over the orange tinted road. The only sign that dawn was coming was the pink tinge that lined dark storm clouds on the horizon. Harry rubbed his eyes, any sleepiness he had been feeling earlier vacating him almost immediately. His eyes drifted to his nightstand, and he pushed the small stack of letters he'd received out of the way so that the number 5:16 shone in acid green on his alarm clock. He sighed, resigned himself to not going back to bed and began to dress.

Contrary to what his outward actions would indicate, he was rather excitedly awaiting for six o'clock to roll around. Today was the day that he and Ron were to go to Hermione's house to stay the weekend, before the three of them went to the station to catch the Hogwarts express and, astonishingly enough, begin their seventh and final year at Hogwarts.

Harry breathed deeply at this thought as his head poked through the collar of one of Dudley's old Manchester United jumpers. His final year at Hogwarts. He had turned seventeen little more than a month ago. He remembered when Hermione had called him to invite him to come along with Ron to stay at her house, their conversation had ended with that very topic and, coincidentally, very noisy sobbing on Hermione's end of the telephone.

He made his way to his small wardrobe and looked in the mirror. His hand brushed through his hair, which was as untidy as ever (not that he cared any) and his eyes had slight bags under them. He hadn't been sleeping well lately. That was a bit of an exaggeration actually, Harry thought. He hadn't been sleeping well since late his fifth year. And that was a very long time. Ron had nagged him about it, told him he should see Madam Pomffrey, Dumbledore, anyone. He'd ignored his friend, instead opting to just do what any adolescent male would do – deal with it on his own.

He suddenly found himself wondering if Ron had seen Hermione at all that summer. The two of them had been on off terms towards the end of last year – they'd had a bit of a row and the train ride home had been spent in silent tension. Also, Hermione had enough to contend with over the summer.

Every year the Grangers vacationed somewhere. A few summers ago they'd been to France, and the summer of their fifth year, Hermione had convinced her parents to vacation in Bulgaria so she could spend her time with Viktor Krum. She'd been reluctant to give any details of how the two had spent their time, only that she had 'a delightful and educational time' and she was thinking of perhaps visiting again next year. Ron had snorted at this, his ears turning pink, before he muttered some sort of excuse and stormed off.

However this summer, she did not go to Bulgaria, but to America on a Wizarding Exchange Programme. She'd gone to Salemtops Academy and Boarding House, and she'd written to Harry and Ron on a regular basis talking about how interesting it was to be on another continent and to learn about all the great witches and wizards that had come from Salem. She'd also wrote a fair bit about her bunk mate, a witch their age named Quinn Aggleberry who was to attend Hogwarts with them that year. She'd returned about three days earlier when she decided that instead of all going to the Burrow or Grimauld Place, they should visit her this year.

Harry yawned audibly. Hermione had promised to pick him up at precisely six and that he shan't be late lest he wish for her to leave him at the Dursley's for the weekend (an idea that did not settle with him well).

The Dursley's had been, if possible, even more horrible this summer than they had been any summer beforehand. He'd felt like a slave, doing menial chores like tending to Aunt Petunia's garden or running errands for Uncle Vernon. They took every opportunity they could to verbally put him down, and they'd locked away his wand and broomstick. They'd only allowed him his spellbooks for homework, and even one weekend forced him to complete Dudley's maths homework while Dudleykins went to a water park with Piers Polkiss. As per usual, they pretended that he was some vulgar slimy thing that one of them had trod on, brought into the house with their trainers, and couldn't clean off.

The only thing that kept him from complaining was the idea that this was the last summer he would ever spend in Little Whinging. That alone kept a smile on his face, even after weeding the flowerbeds in a sweltering heat.

Harry looked to his clock, which now read a quarter to six. He sighed, picked up his Potions textbook and threw it into his trunk, along with his five scrolls worth of potions homework. Snape had been especially nasty at the end of the year, assigning them an essay on why Stinging Nettles from the dark forest mixed with Ashenshoots make such an intense Blinding potion and what side effects were possible with the improper mixture. Harry had found the task particularly taxing, but managed to get it done before the weekend so he could enjoy himself at Hermione's.

Harry opened the door and dragged his trunk out of the room, turning around to look into the room. It was bare. No longer did his Gryffindor house flag don his wall. Hedwig's cage no longer lived among cluttered spell books and wizard candy. No, every trace of Harry's existence was now gone. It looked as if he'd never existed, something the Dursley's had desperately been awaiting since the day he'd been left on their neat little doorstep.

It was an odd feeling as he turned and continued to drag his trunk down the stairs, trying not to wake the Dursley's as it clunked down each step. He would never come back here again. He felt elated, his stomach empty and airy and he was vaguely aware that his lips had begun to curl upward. He reached the front hall and let the trunk drop next to the door with a dull thud.

"You're up then." Harry's heart stopped a minute, and he turned to see his Aunt standing at the kitchen table, leaning over it, looking down at her hands. Her hair was still in pin curls, and she'd donned a pink cotton bathrobe.

"Could I have my wand and broomstick." He said quietly, not sure what else to say. "Please." He added as an afterthought. She smiled, but it wasn't her usual smarmy smile; this one was bitter, and carried something much more painful in it.

"You were always a polite boy." She said dreamily. Harry frowned at this. What was she playing at? She'd never seen him as polite, if anything she'd been subjected to his rude hormonal surges throughout his fifth and sixth year. She looked up at him and her eyes were wider than usual, paler as well. "I suppose you'll be gone soon."

"Yeah, Hermione'll be here in five minutes." He said, trying to move things along. He wasn't comfortable with the way she was looking at him. She nodded and walked past him, to the cupboard under the stair, a place he'd once been confined to living in.

She took off the padlock and opened the door numbly, moving back to allow him to reach in and get his belongings. For a moment he stood still and looked at her suspiciously, as if half expecting her to push him inside and lock him away. But he gave way to reason, assuring himself there was no way the Dursley's would want to keep him if they had the chance to get rid of him. So he reached in and withdrew his wand and Firebolt moving back to his trunk. He heard his aunt sigh and heard the distinct click of the padlock as it was shut.

He turned around and saw that she was facing him, her hands overlapped in front of her, looking at him in that strange way. Where was Hermione? Shouldn't she be here by now? They both stood in awkward silence, waiting for the doorbell to ring.

"Where's Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked trying to make conversation.

"He's in bed, asleep. No use waking him, I thought." She said plainly. Harry shifted his weight.

"You don't need to wait for me. I'm not going to steal something or hex the house or anything like that." He said, hoping she would go back upstairs.

"I'd like to – I just – I'm going to see you off." She said, having a hard time finding the correct words. Harry looked at her, very obviously puzzled by this. Since when had she cared enough to "see him off" anywhere?

"Why?" he asked sharply.

"Don't question me boy." For a moment it seemed like the old Aunt Petunia had come back, which made him relax strangely enough. The old Aunt Petunia he could deal with. But suddenly she looked ashamed of herself and added in a more kindly voice, "It's the right thing to do. It's only right that your family watch you go." It's what Lily would have wanted.

This subtext seemed to reach Harry and he was about to try again to convince her that she shouldn't feel obligated to stay with him since she obviously never really liked him – but something caught his tongue and he stayed silent. He stood in the presence of his only living relative, uncomfortable with the sudden realization that she indeed was all that he had left.

"Uh…" he said suddenly, bring his hand up to brush back his unruly bangs. "Thanks…" Suddenly Petunia made a sort of clucking noise in the back of her throat and her bony hand rushed forward. For a moment, Harry thought she was going to strangle him, but no her hand came to the top of his head where it hesitated, as if she'd just realized what she was about to do. But then it continued, and she gently, almost maternally attempted to smooth down his hair. Harry was sure that his jaw had dropped open at this action but instead of doing what his brain was screaming for him to do, which was to bat her hand away, he allowed her to try and flatten his bangs.

Of course it didn't work but she pulled her hand back all the same and gave a small smile. "There," she said, "now that's better." Suddenly her enormous eyes were watering and Harry's stomach gave a guilty squirm.

He wasn't sure why, but she seemed a little closer to him, and she leaned forward a bit, almost as if she was preparing to hug him. She opened her mouth to say something but the honking of a car horn that was clearly in their driveway interrupted her and her mouth snapped shut.

Harry blinked before turning around and opening the door. He picked up his wand and shoved it in his back pocket, then picked up one end of his trunk and his broom.

Leave, a voice in the back of his head shouted, you're finally free! But he stood still, facing the door, the clouds of the dawning sky a mixture of blues and oranges and pinks. The grass was dewy and the forest green caravan shone as the raindrops reflected the morning light. A new dawn and a new life.

He looked over his shoulder, to Aunt Petunia who stood with her arms crossed, almost hugging herself. It was dark in the house, shadows and doubts and sadness encompassing the small front hall, enveloping his aunt. Her lips were set in a thin line and her eyes looked as if they were pleading with him to do something. Something he didn't know he could do. Pleading for his forgiveness.

So he turned and walked out the door of Number 4 Privet Drive without a word, down the well kept walkway to the green caravan. The cold air stung his throat as he took deep breaths, not once faltering in his quick steps toward the car. It was a short walk but it was almost as if everything were playing slow motion. The door in the back slid open and he pushed his trunk inside along with his broom and climbed in after them, slamming the door behind him. He settled back into the car seat, next to a dozing Hermione and a yawning Ron.

He looked out the dusty tinted window to see Aunt Petunia take a few steps outside, clutching her robe around her, watching her sister's son leave, and she knew that she would never hear from him again. They both knew he would never come back. So she waved, as the van pulled out of the driveway and began speeding away from her.

Harry did not wave back.

Harry stared blankly out the window, hours after they'd left the pristine clump of houses of Little Whinging. Hermione's head was bobbing on his shoulder as the van ploughed down the unkempt highway toward her house. The sun was up now, but it was a cloudy grey day, the light of the sun barely shining through the menacing overcast sky. His mind no longer fixed on the guilt that had been gnawing at him after his rather cold exit out of Number 4 Privet Drive, he worked hard to find something else to think of. He was vaguely aware of Ron stretching, his eyes blinking fast as he tried to stay awake.

"Where are we?" he asked gruffly. Harry shrugged.

"Only about ten more minutes, dears." Mrs. Granger called from up front. At this, Harry felt the weight on his shoulder lift as Hermione yawned rather loudly, her eyes blearily looking out the window and taking in the familiar scenery. "What do you all say to a spot of breakfast when we get home?" Mrs. Granger asked as she turned left onto a side road.

Harry was too transfixed with the neighbourhood that had just popped out of nowhere, as if by magic. Lush weeping willows bowed over the sidewalks, which unlike Privet Drive, had boxes full of newspaper, children's tricycles, and all manner of clutter on it. Not that the neighbourhood seemed messy, oh no, but it seemed much more… lived in.

The houses were all different, again unlike Privet Drive where it seemed as though they just used a Duplicating Spell over and over again. Harry had fun picking which houses looked like they would have belonged to people he knew. He first saw a grand looking manor, in white and shamrock green. He smiled to himself; Seamus would definitely be sporting a house like that one. Next door was a grimy unkempt little bungalow, weeds growing up the sides of the dingy house, the lawn growing to knee high length. It looked as though the resident never came outside. Instantly Harry thought of Snape. He wished HE'D never come out of his house.

Suddenly the car was turning into an even smaller crescent, and then on the very corner, Harry saw Mr. Granger in a pink and yellow pinstripe robe, wearing fuzzy white slippers, bending down on the front step retrieving the morning paper. He looked up to see the van pull into the drive and he grinned, waving to them. Both Harry and Ron heard Hermione give an embarrassed cry, her face in her hands, mumbling "Why, why does he always have to wear that?"

They merely grinned at each other. "Come on Hermione." Ron said nudging her shoulder. "I think it quite suits him. Pink's very much his color." Hermione glared as the two boys sniggered openly.

"Oh shut up." She said as she unbuckled herself and opened the car door, climbing out and unceremoniously stepping on Ron's foot.

"Oi, be careful! I've only got two of 'em!" he hollered as she smiled smugly back at him. He shook his head as he rubbed his foot. "Total nutter, don't know why I decided to come here." Harry just smiled. It was nice to be back among his friends, instead of trapped at the Dursley's. He'd missed their bickering.

After collecting their things from the van the two boys stood in the front drive and surveyed the Granger residence. In the front lawn, like many of the other houses, she had a tall willow tree shading the house, a small swing rocking in the slight morning breeze. The house itself was a creamy white with brick siding. It looked quite grand in fact, a black iron railing leading up the white steps to the front door, which was made of brown wood and had three little windows at the head of the door.

Harry and Ron must have been gaping, because Hermione smiled proudly. "You can come inside you know, you don't need to camp out on the lawn." Harry snuck a sideways glance at Ron. He had turned a bit pink and was now staring at the pavement. Harry knew why, he needn't asked. Ron was embarrassed by the Burrow which was mix-matched and shabby. Not that Harry would ever say it aloud, but he much preferred the Burrow to anything else. Even the Granger residence.

Harry elbowed him in the ribs. "Come on, let's get inside, I'm starving." Ron nodded and the two of them lugged their trunks and belongings up the steps and through the open front door.

The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the well organized front hall. The three friends kicked off their shoes and ambled down the creaking hard wood floorboards, following Hermione into a cramped but visually pleasing and homey kitchen. Hermione hopped up on one of the stools in front of the island as her mother set the plates in front of them. They ate in silence, all of them either too sleepy or too hungry to strain their brains long enough to find a decent conversation starter.

"Letter for you, Dumpling." Mr. Granger said as he absentmindedly sifted through their mail. "Looks as though it's from your mate in America." He slid the small blue envelope across the table to Hermione. Hermione lay her fork down on the side of her plate and ripped open the envelope, pulling a small piece of paper from it. Her eyes darted over it quickly.

"Oh no!" she said as she finished the letter. "Quinn's not coming to Hogwarts anymore!"

"Woff nope Mione?" Ron tried to say around a mouthful of eggs. Mrs. Granger seemed to wince as he did this but said nothing. Hermione shot him a withering look but also chose not to start another row with him.

"It says here she's contracted the Mumbello's Virus." Everyone in the room looked at Hermione quizzically, including her parents. "It's a wizard bug, sort of like the flu I suppose except you break out in big purple boils and cough up prunes." Everyone's face scrunched up as the image of festering purple boils and phlegmy prunes suddenly materialized in their heads.

"Can't they fix her up with a bit of magic?" Mrs. Granger asked as she poured them all a cup of tea. Mr. Granger frowned at this. As Harry remembered it, he hadn't been very keen on using magic to fix his daughter's teeth. He supposed it was the same idea with health issues.

"Mumbello's doesn't really have a cure, nothing you can do but wait for boils to go away I'm afraid." Hermione said sadly, shaking her head slightly. "And we don't have Mumbello's here in England so that's why she can't come. Oh what rotten luck, I was so looking forward to Quinners coming to visit."

"Hey, there's something written on the other side." Ron said pointing to the letter she was still holding. Hermione turned it over and read the next bit aloud.

"'So sorry I couldn't make it Hermione. But Headmistress Spencer said she'd be sending one of my girl friends round in my place. I'll leave it as a surprise, but you are so totally going to be thrilled. Maybe next summer I'll come visit, once I've turned my normal color again. Hope everything's well at Hogwarts! Love, Quinn.'" Hermione finished with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well that doesn't sound so bad dear, you'll still be getting an exchange student, that's alright." Mr. Granger said as he gingerly sipped his tea. Hermione nodded offhandedly.

"Any guess whose coming?" Harry asked curiously before taking his cup of tea from Mrs. Granger. Hermione shook her head.

"It could be anyone really. Salemtops was a boarding school for girls, so it's not as though that really narrows the field." She said staring at the letter. "Ugh, this is going to pester me all weekend, I just know it."

"Ugh, that means it's going to bother us all weekend too. You've always been rather verbal about that kind of thing." Ron said in a mock pout.

This was when Hermione delivered a swift kick to Ron's good foot.


	2. Back to Hogwarts

**Harry Potter and the Dead Sphere **

**By: Stokely**

_The disclaimer is in chapter one. This chapter is a bit more interesting... Hogwarts express and talking with old friends about future ones._

_For Ghada, who liked my first chapter despite its crappiness._

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**Chapter two **

**Back to Hogwarts**

They spent the rest of the morning touring the Granger house, which was quite a bit more fun than one would usually expect while showing someone around. The source of this fun was actually explaining to Ron how all the different Muggle gadgets worked. He'd already been introduced to the telephone, though he hadn't taken to it very well. The computer also proved difficult to explain, especially after Ron had tried to move the mouse by tapping on it with his wand. They had to flee the computer room after Ron had somehow managed to transfigure the mouse into an actual mouse, and then Crookshanks chased it around the room, causing destruction and mayhem in the usually orderly office.

Ron had also been quite bewildered in the kitchen when Mrs. Granger had called them in for lunch later that afternoon. He took special interest with the bread maker and the crock-pot. He had an unfortunate accident however when he'd pushed a button on the microwave and the door sprang open and bopped him on the nose.

The television on the other hand had suited Ron just fine and they settled into the living room and began sifting through Hermione's collection of Muggle movies. Ron and Harry had managed to convince Hermione that instead of watching her Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World tapes they should watch The Godfather, the three of them settled into the white leather couch and began watching.

However the movie was slightly tainted due to Ron's questioning them every few minutes about what the characters were doing. Eventually they abandoned the idea of trying to get through the movie and moved upstairs to Hermione's room.

"This is nothing at all like Ginny's room." Ron said as the two boys looked around. It wasn't what Harry had expected either. The walls were a light blue and bare save for a Hogwarts banner that Hermione had gotten Dean Thomas to make her last year, and a picture of her family. There was also a picture of the three of them in their fifth year at Hogwarts, but they weren't moving.

"I got Professor McGonagal to mugglephotofy them." She explained as she sat down on her bed. "I couldn't very well have my cousins up here, wondering why my pictures moved."

There was a desk in the corner with their Potions Essay on it and a huge bookshelf filled with Muggle books. Next to the bookcase was her Hogwarts trunk, and on top of that were a few stuffed animals, probably from her childhood. Her room was very plain. Harry had half expected it to have posters of Muggle or Wizard idols hanging on the walls, or maybe he was expecting more pink. He realized how very foolish that idea must have been considering how Hermione was.

Ron had wandered over to the bookshelf by now and was reading the labels of the books when his eyes fell upon a small wizard picture of Hermione and Krum waving happily and gazing at each other in a flirty manner; probably from her visit to Bulgaria.

"Looks like you forgot one, this one's still moving." He said in an almost snarky voice as he picked up the small picture and showed it to Harry and Hermione. Hermione blushed a furious shade of red before darting forward and grabbing the picture out of his hand.

"I, uh, I usually don't have it out." She mumbled as she opened the desk drawer and put the picture inside. "Mum must have taken it out while cleaning." Ron had his arms folded over his chest, which was not as skinny as it had once been. Mind you, he wasn't big, at least not horizontally. He crossed the room in only three strides and muttered something about getting his trunk. Next moment he was gone. Hermione sighed.

"Why does he always get this way whenever Viktor is mentioned?" She asked genuinely perplexed. She sat down on the bed next to Harry who shrugged. "We've already established that he's not a bad guy. I just can't understand why Ron hates him so much."

"Maybe it's because he likes you." Harry said, dead serious. Hermione burst into a fit of giggles.

"Ron, like me? That's ridiculous, honestly Harry! Ron and I can't stand each other!" she continued to chuckle. Harry shrugged yet again. It was then that her laughter began to die away. "You don't really think… I mean to say… Has he told you that he-"

"No, he hasn't said anything." Harry said as he wiped his glasses on his shirt. "He doesn't really have to though." They sat in a ringing silence for a few moments before the sound of Ron lugging his trunk up the stairs broke it.

"Really, Granger, do you think you've got enough stairs in this house." He said as he dragged his trunk into her room. Hermione turned pink for a moment but quickly replied.

"Says the boy who lives at the Burrow! Really, you'd think you'd be used to it." But she quickly fell silent and looked to Harry, who looked to her and then they both looked back at Ron in unison.

"What's up with you two?" Ron asked frowning ever so slightly.

"Nothing." Unfortunately they said this in unison which further incriminated them. "Come on." Hermione said briskly, "why don't we all go for a walk. I think it'd do nicely to get out of the house." Before Ron or Harry could answer she'd strode out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

The rest of the weekend went smoothly and lazily by. Harry enjoyed staying with the Grangers. He got to laze about, and though he cleaned up any mess he made, he liked the fact that that was all he was responsible for picking up. Saturday they took Ron down to Muggle London and showed him around before going into the Leaky Cauldron to get to Diagon Alley to get their school things. They also got heaps of Wizard and Muggle candy (Curly Wurly? What's it do, spin you round like a tornado? Ron had asked examining the packet carefully) and brought it hope that night, feasting on it while watching a few movies. Ron spent some of the day Sunday reading up on Apparating, since his test was coming up and he really wanted to get it as soon as he could.

Hermione and Harry had already completed theirs, but they'd promised Ron they wouldn't Apparate anywhere until he'd gotten his. This did not stop Hermione from Apparating upstairs when she suddenly remembered as they got into the car that she'd forgotten her new Transfiguration textbook.

It took around a half hour to get to King's Cross Station, the whole car ride was devoted to the three wondering what their seventh year would be like. When they arrived the two boys hopped out and volunteered to retrieve the trolleys for their trunks.

"What do you reckon Hermione's American mate will look like?" Ron asked as they began loading their things onto their trolleys and waited for Hermione to say goodbye to her mum and dad. Harry had been wondering the same thing actually.

"I don't know, don't really care do I? Just as long as I can stand her for a few weeks, that's all I'm looking for." He said looking down at his watch which now read ten to eleven. Ron sighed.

"Hope she's good looking." Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" Ron asked with a small smile. "Can't hurt can it?"

"Alright you two, we'd better get a move on if we're going to get decent seats." Hermione said as she brushed a tear from the corner of her eye. Harry and Ron waved at Mr. and Mrs. Granger who were climbing back into their caravan.

"What's it to you how good our seats are?" Ron asked as the three began pushing their trolleys through the station toward Platforms nine and ten. "You're up front with Head Boy." Hermione blushed scarlet and absentmindedly tucked her Head Girl badge further into her pants pocket.

"Who IS Head Boy anyway?" Harry asked as they wheeled past the station master who was looking at them suspiciously. "Not Ernie Macmillian, I don't care if he did support me when everyone else thought I was off my cart, he's a bit of a snob."

"Worse would be Malfoy." Ron cut in. "It's not Malfoy is it?" He asked as his mouth dropped into a frown. Hermione laughed and shook her head so vehemently her bushy hair bounced.

"Oh no, Dumbledore's not that careless. No it's actually Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw. He's not really obliging actually but he is quite clever. A bit of a brainbox."

"The two of you should get on like a house on fire then." Ron said cheerfully as they finally came to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. First they checked to see that no one was watching. The station master was temporarily engaged with a mother who was trying to ask for a certain train, but her two children kept prodding the station master in – well in inappropriate places. The three took their opportunity and rushed through and onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Steam billowed from the shiny engine, and The Hogwarts Express gleamed in polished gold print. Witches and Wizards were hurrying their children along, giving them rushed pecks and last minute instructions.

"Lord, it's a mad house round here." Harry exclaimed. "Come on or we'll never get a seat." Ron nodded and the three rushed onto the train (though they got temporarily held up when a second year girl had tried to rush in at the exact same time as Hermione, causing their belongings to get wedged in the door). When they made their way down the corridor and slid open the first few doors to find filled compartments, they finally came upon one with a friendly face.

"Neville!" Harry puffed, obviously quite relieved to see him. At first Harry had had to do a double take. Neville had acquired a bit of a tan and he was no longer the odd oblong shape he used to be. Harry supposed it had just taken him a bit longer to mature. He'd gotten broader in the shoulders and a bit skinnier round the middle. His face was the same as it had always been however and he offered his own grin to them.

Harry heaved his trunk into the compartment and Neville helped him stow it. Hermione came around next and she looked positively out of breath after all the kafuffle with the door and the second year.

"Here, I got it Hermione." Ron said as he dropped his own belongings and grabbed Hermione's trunk. He gave a loud grunt as he lifted the trunk out of her hands and up onto the rack. Hermione watched him, as did Harry and Neville, and she must have realized that her eyes widened, because suddenly she found her shirt sleeve quite interesting. Harry and Neville exchanged looks and they both smiled.

"Uhm… well, thanks Ron. Want me to help you with your things?" She offered meekly. Ron smiled and shook his head.

"Oh no, I'll be alright. Don't need any help with it. You go on now to the front, we'll see you later." Ron instructed as he kicked the side of his trunk. Hermione bit her lip, but nodded all the same and squeezed past him, continuing down the corridor determined not to look back. As soon as she was out of sight, Ron clasped his back and winced.

"Blimey, what's she keep in there? A corpse? C'mon Harry, help me with my stuff."

"I thought you didn't need any help, being the big strong bloke you are." Harry said smirking. Ron shot him a glare. Harry raised his hands. "Alright, alright, I get it. It's only funny when you're the one making the joke."

"Right." He said before they each grabbed an end of the trunk and heaved it up onto the rack. As soon as it was stowed the train gave a small jerk and they all looked out the window to see witches and wizards waving as the train began to pull away from the station. Neville wrenched open the window and he and Ron stuck their heads out, waving to no one in particular and jauntily proclaiming this was their last year. Harry merely grinned and shook his head.

Once the station was out of sight, they all settled back into their seats and watched the scenery as it blurred past them. The sunlight filtered through in rays that broke through a stormy sky, and patches of fields became a glowing green, separate from the darkness the clouds cast. Harry breathed a heavy sigh and slid further down in his seat. He was going home.

"So how was your summer Neville?" Ron asked good-naturedly as he fished out his Exploding Snap cards. Neville smiled as he moved forward in his seat so he could play.

"Excellent. Got to go with Great Uncle Algie to Mexico to study some foreign plant life they just discovered there. Got back a few days ago and…" at this he turned rather red and fidgeted, "spent the weekend at the Lovegoods's."

Both Harry and Ron looked up at this, and Neville turned even more scarlet. "Really?" Ron said appreciatively. "Good on you mate, how'd it go?" Neville shrugged, but his lips had begun to twitch upwards again.

"Alright." He said. "Mr. Lovegood was really friendly and welcoming, surprisingly." He sighed mistily. "And Luna was… well you wait, she's changed a lot." Ron raised his eyebrows at Harry and jerked his head at Neville, who was now sporting an obviously smitten expression on his face. Harry stifled a chuckle and just smiled. He was really very happy for Neville.

Before Ron could start handing out the cards, the door to the compartment slid open and another familiar red head peered around the corner.

"Thank goodness, it's crazy out here, I though we'd never find you!" Ginny exclaimed as she lugged her surprisingly huge trunk inside. We? Harry thought, but soon his question was answered as Looney Lovegood followed Ginny in. But she didn't at all look like the old Luna.

Her hair was still dirty blonde but she'd cut it so now it was only past her shoulder blades and was straight. Her huge blue eyes were still haunting but now had an almost seductive quality, now that her face had grown a bit sharper and more defined. She was thin as ever, but Harry noticed that she now was a bit more elegant in stature. Today she had onion rings dangling from her ears and some sort of thorny necklace round her neck.

Harry saw out of the corner of his eye that Ron's mouth had dropped open. Oh yes, Looney Lovegood had definitely changed a lot.

"Hello Harry. Ronald." She said in that misty voice that had stayed ever the same.

"Hello Luna." Harry said, but all Ron could manage was a weak nod. She smiled offhandedly at him before she and Ginny sat down next to Neville.

"Did you hear that Hermione's getting an exchange witch from America?" Ginny asked, not noticing that her brother was still gaping at Luna. Neville shook his head, as did Luna, the onion rings swinging wildly. At that point Ron must have realized that she was still the nutty girl she'd always been and his mouth snapped shut.

"When's she arriving, d'you know?" Harry asked Ginny, wondering if she'd thought to ask. Ginny smiled and nodded.

"Hermione just told me. Apparently she'll be coming tomorrow morning for breakfast. Got a horrible midnight ticket and won't be arriving until five in the morning." She said. Harry blinked.

"She's taking a plane?" he asked dumbstruck. It was Ginny's turn to look politely confused.

"What's a plane?" she asked. Harry took this to mean, no, the exchange witch was not taking a plane. "She's porting in, you know, with a portkey? But when it's such a long way away, you spend a bit of time in transit. Plus you've got to get through all that Wizport security."

"That's a nightmare." Ron added as he shuffled his cards. "Remember getting through Egypt, Gin? They thought Percy'd been trying to smuggle in a herd of Doxy, which turned out to just be one of your stuffed animals bewitched by Fred. They held him up for hours." Ginny sniggered at the memory.

"Does Hermione know whose coming yet?" Harry asked, becoming quite curious about this new witch. She would of course be spending a lot of time with them since she was Hermione's guest.

"No, that's the odd part; they still want it to be a surprise." Ginny said overcoming her giggles. "All they said was she would be coming tomorrow and be with us till Christmas break."

"That's a long piece." Neville said and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

They spent the next few hours of the train ride exchanging summer stories as well as guessing what Hermione's guest would look and act like.

"Well she's American, right? Well she could look like anything, I remember when I was up there on my way to Mexico, everyone looked all different." Neville said as they all nodded.

"I hope she's nice." Ginny said. "It would be awful to get someone like Pansy Parkinson, having to stay with us in the Gryffindor Common Room and in our dormitories." She stuck out her tongue.

"I hope she's not too much like Hermione." Ron said. They all frowned at him. "Well, one Hermione's plenty! Besides I hope she's really flashy and dangerous."

"And gorgeous knowing you." Ginny snorted. Harry's mouth quirked into a smile and Ginny groaned. "You've already told Harry that, haven't you?" She smacked Ron's forearm hard.

"Hey! It wouldn't hurt!" He said in his defence, recoiling from his sister.

"Yeah, well I hope she's a real troll just for you." Ginny shot back, still obviously disgusted with her brother. Luna, Harry and Neville just laughed. But in the back of Harry's head, he hoped she didn't actually look like a troll. Not that it mattered, he quickly reminded himself. It's just what Ron had said. It couldn't hurt.

An hour later, Luna and Neville had fallen asleep and Ginny looked as if she were on the brink of doing the same. It was grey and the rays of sun had since departed, making it a lazy dark day. They were lulled by the gloom and the train steadily racing along the tracks toward Hogwarts. A few minutes past four, Harry felt Ron's head slip onto his shoulder. Harry rolled his eyes and pushed his friend over so that he laid his upper body across the empty seat. Harry just continued to watch the scenery hurtle past and suddenly found that his eyelids were drooping. He laid his temple on the cold glass of the window and no thoughts filled his head but those of simple happiness as he surveyed his friends all dozing softly. Suddenly he heard something against the window. He looked up and the sky had opened up and droplets fell against the window. It was raining.

He heard the compartment door slide open and he turned, sure that it was Hermione who had finally come to check on them. But instead there was an unfamiliar girl standing at the door. She'd paused when she realized that the compartment was full of sleeping students.

Harry looked at her without really seeing her. His vision was blurry and he realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses. They were lying in his lap but he made no move to put them back on. He heard her mutter a sorry and she quickly shut the door. His brain was working at a slow pace and so he just let his head slide backwards onto the window again as his eyes fell shut and he fell to sleep.


	3. Moonshade and Black

**Harry Potter and the Dead Sphere**

**By: Stokely**

_This is definitely an interesting chapter. New characters introduced. Hope you all enjoy._

_For Ghada, the only one who supports Moonshade and Black._

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**Chapter three**

**Moonshade and Black**

"Harry… Harry… oh wake up you great lumpy git!" Harry's eyes opened slowly. He was looking at a very blurry shoe. He yawned loudly before sitting up slowly and blinking around at the compartment. It was pitch black outside but the compartment was lit in a golden aura. "Thank god, you were crushing my foot." It was just then that Harry realized that he was lying on the floor.

"Wha happened?" he asked sleeping as he rubbed his glasses on his shirt before putting them on.

"You must have slid off the bench when you were sleeping." Ron said as he massaged his foot. He was dressed in his robes. "Hermione's just been round, she says we're nearly there." Harry nodded as he got to his feet and looked around.

"Where are Neville and Ginny and Luna?" he asked as he climbed up to get his things out of his trunk.

"Ginny went to see her other friends I s'pose. Neville wanted to show Luna something up front, or so they said." Ron gave a suggestive wink while Harry rolled his eyes.

"How was Hermione?" Harry asked as he began changing into his school slacks. Ron busied himself with cramming his other clothes back in his trunk. They both noticed that the train had begun to slow and the excitement had begun to build up in Harry's stomach. Ron's merely gave a hungry rumble.

"She seemed fine. A bit flustered." He grinned. "Apparently Tony Goldstein's a bit hard to cope with. Brainier than her too, or so she ranted after she'd slammed the door. I swear I don't know how you managed to sleep through her huff." Harry smiled sheepishly at this. He buttoned up his shirt and began tying his gold and red striped tie.

"I hope she doesn't get too upset with him or I reckon we'll be getting the brunt of it." Ron added with a sigh which made Harry laugh. He had just finished pulling on his socks when the compartment door slid open and Hermione let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good. I was half expecting you two not to be ready. We're almost ready to go and I just wanted to-"

"Good luck Hermione." Harry said knowingly. She might seem like the most confident girl in their school but he knew that she had come back there for a bit of cheering up and encouragement. Her mouth closed and she smiled.

"Yeah, you'll do great." Ron added enthusiastically. She nodded.

"Well then, I guess I'd better head up front. I'll see you two at supper." She said quickly before moving back down the corridor at a bit of a run. Moments later they felt the train slow to a complete stop. Neville and Luna came back a second later to collect their things and Ginny was not far behind them.

"What do you say we wait a minute?" Harry said just before Ron could open the door. "Doesn't matter if we're the last ones off the train, Seamus and Dean'll save our places." They all sat back down, none of them too eager to get mixed up in the chaos that was undoubtedly unfolding in the corridor and on the platform.

When it sounded as though the majority of the crowd had gotten a coach and were already on their way up to the castle, they all lugged their things out into the corridor and off the train. The sound of their trunks scraping along the platform toward the coaches pulled by Thestrals followed them, and Harry couldn't help but notice a large silhouetted figure conducting very tiny first years towards the boats. Harry combated his first instinct which was to switch directions and run over to Hagrid, and instead helped Ginny load her things onto the coach.

The ride up to the grounds was rather quiet, everyone looking out their windows out onto the dewy grass. The night was clear and now cloudless, the moon high in the sky and glowing brightly. The view was so clear that Harry thought he could see the moon's craters. The wheels of the carriages crunched along the road up to Hogwarts and the wind whistled slightly. He was back where he belonged for his final year.

Once they'd finished putting their things in the front hall, they entered the Great Hall and breathed in the smell that was uniquely Hogwarts; a mix of dust and memory, of excellent feasting and candle wax, and Harry's home. He inhaled so deeply he thought he might gag as his senses were assaulted with all the things he would sorely miss once this year was over.

Opting not to look too overwhelmed with feeling, he followed Hermione and Ron as they bee lined toward Hagrid who was talking animatedly with Dean and Lavender Brown. As they came into his view, he beamed at all three of them and a giant egg sized tear collected at the corner of his eye.

"Ye all look so growed up." He sniffed, as the tear trickled down his ruddy cheeks and disappeared into his wilder than ever beard. They all grinned up at him almost childishly before Hermione launched herself at his middle and hugged him. Hagrid let out a surprised "ooph" but smiled as she let out a tiny sob of her own. "Now, now, 'Ermione, s'not the end o' the year yet!" he said patting her back.

Ron and Harry managed to pry her off him so that he could return to his seat at the Head Table and they sat down, Hermione burying her face in the crook of Ron's neck. Ron blushed madly and stroked her back, looking around at everyone else who was grinning at the awkward look on his face. Harry meanwhile had gone to talk to Ginny for a moment before taking the seat opposite Ron.

"Alright Harry?" Dean said leaning over the table. Harry grinned back.

"Yeah. And you?"

"Pretty good. Can't believe that next year we'll be off." He said, but his smile showed that it was not such an unappealing thought. Harry nodded. The Great Hall was filling up quickly and the noise level was rising as people shouted and launched into discussions about their holidays, all excitedly musing on what this next year at Hogwarts would bring. Harry looked up at the Head Table and locked eyes with Dumbledore. Harry offered a small smile and nodded toward the headmaster. Dumbledore's eyes merely twinkled before he winked and returned to conversing with Professor McGonagoll.

Harry's eyes wandered over to the Slytherin table and he was pleased to see Malfoy looking particularly sour as he eyed the Head Boy badge that Anthony Goldstein was showing off to his peers. Ron picked up on this too, and Harry could have sworn he saw Ron give Hermione an extra squeeze just to show how proud he was that she'd gotten Head Girl.

"Well hello, hello to all!" Dumbledore's voice boomed, and suddenly it went quiet, silent almost, as everyone looked up eagerly at the top table. "It is excellent to see all of you looking so cheery and, surprisingly, to see you all looking so cheery to be back here at Hogwarts." Everyone clapped, a few even whistled. "Now let's have the first years up front please." Dumbledore called as he rubbed his hands together expectantly.

The small group of little first years ambled forward, looking around at the floating candles, at the four long tables, which were this year decorated in their house colors for start of the year. They looked up at the clear starry sky and blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend where the ceiling had got to. Harry smiled nostalgically at them all, timidly gathering around the front, as McGonagall produced the old stool and school Sorting Hat.

The Sorting Hat had apparently reverted back to its old song, no longer belting out the long warning song it had sung for the past two years about houses uniting. Harry looked at it quizzically for a moment and for the first time in a month he wondered where Lord Voldemort was.

Oh no, he wasn't gone. Not yet.

Last year, Harry had once again come face to face with Lord Voldemort and battled him along with the Order of the Phoenix. The prophesy that he had been turning over in his mind all last year had given him a certain power, or at least had made him feel more powerful. He knew the rest of the prophesy and Voldemort did not, which made Harry feel as though he had a secret that he held over his enemy's head. There had been casualties, oh yes, some lost their lives, witches and wizards Harry had not even known by name. Mundungus Fletcher had lost a limb and they'd lost Elphias Doge, Hestia Jones and Mad Eye Moody when they were ambushed by Death Eaters. Tonks was still in St. Mungo's, Harry grimaced, remembering that he hadn't heard from Lupin about Tonks in nearly a month. He made a mental note to ask Remus next time he sent Hedwig out.

Harry wondered how he had been so complacent and forgetful about worrying about Voldemort. He'd been beaten badly and was on the brink of death but he'd been on the brink before and come back as strong as he was fourteen years earlier. Harry had pushed all that out of his mind however. The Ministry was looking for Voldemort, they had the finest Aurors spending every waking moment tracking Death Eaters and picking them off one by one. It was only a matter of time. And Harry could go back to being normal.

Well as normal as any witch or wizard could be.

"Weedlebrush, Helen." McGonagoll said clearly. It was then that Harry snapped out of his reverie and realized that they'd commenced the Sorting Ceremony and were very nearly finished. There were only three little ones left. Helen Weedlebrush was sitting on the stool; the Sorting Hat perched atop her thick brown curly hair. The hat seemed to be having trouble placing her and Helen looked as though she were praying for it to make up its mind.

"RAVENCLAW!" The Sorting Hat shouted and the table on the far right stood and clapped and cheered as little Helen ran out of the spotlight, seemingly relieved that she was no longer the center of attention.

"Wong, Terrence." The little Chinese boy eagerly bounced up to the stool and took a seat, his eyes falling shut as the hat was placed on his head. Only a second later –

"GRYFFINDOR!" Harry pounded on the table and cheered as Terrence flung off the hat, which McGonagoll nearly didn't catch, and ran as fast as he could to join his fellow first year Gryffindors. Harry saw Ron pat the little fellow on the back and say "well done you!" Hermione smiled at Terrence who grinned brightly back.

The last first year trotted up and sat down delicately on the stool without McGonagoll calling her, and soon Renee Zeffinger was off to join Hufflepuff. Dumbledore stood as the stool and hat were carted off behind the table.

"Splendid! Well done all of you! Now a few reminders, yes of course." He said, his eyes twinkling as he saw a few people groan. "Firstly, the Dark Forest is out of bounds. All first years are to abide by this, unless of course they wish to be parted with any appendages. Secondly. And lastly, I am pleased to announce that Hogwarts will be playing host to a Wizarding Exchange Programme with Salemtops in America." At this his eyes came to rest on Hermione. "Miss. Granger of Gryffindor participated this summer and was to have one of her friends come here for term. Unfortunately Miss. Aggleberry has come down with a bout of Mumbello's, and as she has only toned down to a mild magenta, we had to find a replacement." He made to continued but stopped.

Dumbledore paused as the sound of the Great Hall doors opening interrupted him. Everyone's heads swivelled around, and people craned their necks to get a better look at who was coming in late.

Two girls, probably in their sixth or seventh years, had come in and were standing in the middle aisle between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. They were very different looking from one another but it was very clear that they were not Hogwarts students.

"Ah, and here are our two exchange students now!" Dumbledore smiled widely, clapping his hands together. Everyone surrounding Hermione looked to her as she gaped.

"Two?!" She breathed, obviously just as surprised as everyone else. They all turned back to look at the new students.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a hearty Hogwarts welcome to our two new students, Isis Moonshade," he motioned to the girl on the left, "and Aryn Black." he motioned to the other girl.

There was a pause before a sparse amount of clapping sounded out. Everyone was too busy staring. Both girls were wearing a similar uniform, although the girl on the right was a bit sloppier looking that the one on the left. They both wore black shoes with large tin buckles on them, dark purple knee socks, grey pleated skirts and white collared shirts. They also wore deep purple ties with an embalm on them of a crescent moon and a white cat. The witch on the right also wore a black wide brimmed hat with a crooked point.

Isis Moonshade, the girl standing as though she were rather perturbed by all this attention, was a tanned girl with long brownish red curly hair. She was quiet tall; Harry was probably only just her height. But something that was most astonishing about her was her eyes; they were a deep amethyst color.

Aryn Black was a bit shorter than Moonshade and was fair, with short choppy straight blonde hair and olive coloured eyes. She was standing much more at ease than Isis and she gave off the impression that she wasn't one for rules and that she did not want to be here.

It was then that Harry caught Hermione's eye and they both wondered the same thing. Black… was she?... could she possibly be related to Sirius…? Both their heads whipped back around so quickly, Harry could have sworn he heard Hermione's neck crack. The Black girl surveyed the Hall ominously, before her eyes came to rest on Harry and the Gryffindors around him. And then he saw something strange happen on her indifferent if not gloomy face: she smiled. Not widely, and a second later it flickered away, leaving him to wonder if he hadn't just imagined it.

"Well, Miss Moonshade, if you would please proceed to the Gryffindor table, I'm sure Miss Granger would like to introduce you to a few people." The darker girl smiled uneasily before making her way, temporarily stealing the spotlight from the gloomy girl, to come to a halt in front of their group. Hermione smiled and turned to Ron.

"Budge up there Ronald." She ordered, though they could all tell she was a bit uncomfortable. They did and Isis Moonshade took her seat in between Ron and Hermione. Dean immediately reached over the table to shake her hand; Colin Creevey was currently snapping her picture, thick purple smoke billowing from his camera. Everyone was introducing themselves, shaking Moonshade's hand as she blushed and nodded, not yet uttering a word. Seamus even went back for a second hand shake, still obviously tongue tied, and everyone laughed as he introduced himself as Stacy Gingerfin.

"What about her?" Harry heard Dean whisper to Neville. Now that Isis had met everyone in the general vicinity, they'd all turned back to look at Aryn Black, who stood as unimpressed as ever, waiting for some instruction as to what to do.

"Ah, Miss Black, if you would take a seat at the Slytherin table." Dumbledore said with a crooked smile, waving his hand toward the Slytherin table so that all the candles that levitated over them had their small flickering lights burst into flame, signalling where she was supposed to go. Harry felt disappointment creep over him. He'd wanted to question her about Sirius. Just a little over a year since his godfather's death, he'd still not recovered fully from the loss. A tiny piece of him still hoped, still clung to the hope that he would come back…

Aryn Black walked over to the far end of the Hall and began making her way toward the seventh years and, consequently, Malfoy. He glared. No doubt Malfoy would take the opportunity to poison her mind with lies about Harry. But to Harry's surprise, Malfoy looked the opposite direction and, if he wasn't mistaken, was ignoring the new girl. Aryn sat down a few people away from Crabbe and did not make to greet anyone, although some of the Slytherin boys were looking at her interestedly.

"Well I think now that our important business has been taken care of, a feast would be in order. Tuck in!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than mountains of food unfurled out of thin air. Isis Moonshade gave a little squeak of surprise, her large doe eyes growing wide at all the food.

"Well she looks very sour." Hermione said peering over at Aryn Black, whose expression remained as unmoved as ever by the sudden appearance of food.

"Don't mind her." Everyone looked at Isis, who'd just spoken before timidly reaching for a chicken wing as though sure it wasn't real. "She's just… she just doesn't want to be here."

"It's quite apparent." Hermione said as she began to shovel mashed potatoes onto her own plate. "You'd think she'd try and look a little more enthusiastic though." She huffed. Isis shrugged.

"I don't blame her." She said quietly. Everyone raised an eyebrow and paused loading up their plates, waiting for her to give reasons. Isis noticed this but opted to be mysterious. "She's got her reasons."

"Enough about her." Ron said as he helped himself to some pork chops. "What do you think of Hogwarts so far?" To Harry's surprise, Ron was talking with ease while it was quite clear that whenever Isis's back was turned he would study her, obviously quite taken with her. Harry also noticed Hermione throw Ron a few dirty looks. Obviously **she** had noticed where he was looking too.

Isis was blushing with all the attention she was receiving. After assuring them all that she was quite impressed with the magnitude and mystery of Hogwarts she began talking about Salemtops. Harry felt that it was actually quite interesting to hear about another witches' school.

"And our castle is nothing like yours!" she breathed looking up at the bewitched ceiling. "We've got a couple of wings and secret passages and a moat, but none of that moving staircase stuff. And we're not as obsessed with Quidditch as you are, so our field is getting kind of overgrown and wild. Only the other day our Headmistress had to call in an exterminator. The field was overrun with Nifflers, so that put practice on hold for a bit, what with them attacking anyone who went out to play. And… well… is it true that you've got a half giant teaching here?" she whispered the last part. Harry and Ron grinned at each other before nodding proudly. "Wow! That's so chill! We don't have giants in America, they're only in Europe! But we studied them last year. Really interesting stuff." She looked over at Hagrid who was red cheeked and talking with Professor Flitwick.

"Yeah, he's a really great guy." Ron said, and Harry noticed that now that Isis was around, his manners concerning talking with food in his mouth were impeccable and he made sure he swallowed all his food before opening his mouth.

"You're all so lucky!" Isis said looking at Hermione only slightly enviously. "My family moved to England after the witch trials in Arabia in the 15th century. But then you started having witch trials of your own and they decided to move to America instead." Isis took some more mashed turnip and pumpkin juice. "Plus, you all have the cool accents."

"Your accent is pretty cool." Harry said honestly. He hadn't met many Americans, a few when he'd been going to elementary school with Dudley. But generally speaking they were, at the time, getting beaten up, so they didn't say much.

"Nah, it's not half as cool as yours…" she trailed off as she looked at him more closely. "Wait a second… you're Harry Potter!" she said as her amethyst eyes trailed over his forehead and Harry felt himself turn a bit red.

"Er…yeah, I am." He said, not knowing really how to reply to this. Now-a-days, no one was shocked to meet him or treated him differently.

"But…I…we…" she was now blushing so furiously that it was beginning to creep down her neck and past the collar of her blouse. "I guess I just… pictured you … a tad differently…" she said slowly, still looking at the scar. Harry exchanged looks with the other boys who were merely eating and not paying much attention.

"How so?" Hermione asked sipping her pumpkin juice.

"I dunno… just… taller and older I guess…" but now she was trying desperately to stare at her plate and not have to look at Harry. "We studied you in Dark Magics last year." She added trying to explain why she was so awestruck by Harry. His eyebrows rose dangerously high, threatening to disappear into his unruly bangs. Wizards in other countries knew who he was?! This was news to him.

But Isis had suddenly turned her back on him, talking with Ron about how they'd already had a werewolf teach them, how Hagrid was a half giant, and about the ever unpopular Potions teacher Snape.

"You watch out for him. He's had it in for us Gryffindors right from the start." Ron said before polishing off his second double helping of chops.

"Yeah, we swear he'd rather turn us into toads than let any of us get a good mark in Potions." Dean chided in. Isis nodded knowingly.

"Yeah I know the feeling. Mrs. Hobblenog has been trying to fail me out of Ancient Runes for years." At this Hermione seemed to perk up.

"You take Ancient Runes?" she asked trying to contain her excitement. Isis smiled, happy to have found something to get her host more interested in her.

"Oh yeah. Hobblenog's been trying to get me to drop out but I actually enjoy the class so…" she grinned, "I just satisfy myself with occasionally bewitching her chair with a Flatulence Spell I learned in Year Two. Five years later and she still doesn't know it's me." They all laughed, even Hermione who usually frowned upon that kind of practical joke.

Harry just shook his head and chuckled along with the rest of them, returning to his half eaten dinner. He looked up from his glazed ham and peas to see Aryn Black staring right at him. He paused for a moment, his fork half way to his mouth, which was hanging open, and looked unblinkingly at her. He saw her smile and shake her head, mimicking his actions, before she looked down and continued to fill her plate with the roast duck that had just appeared in front of her.

For a long moment Harry did not move, his mouth still agape, his fork still only half way to his mouth. It wasn't until Seamus elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a look that clearly read, "close your mouth, you look like a prat" that Harry stuffed the food in his mouth.

There was a sleepy stupor settling among the students now, and just as they were all groaning about not being able to eat one more morsel, the dinner cleared and desert popped out of nowhere. It took about five seconds before everyone began to fist in for their desert.

"So you must be tired after your early port." Hermione said as she waved off the trifle that Lavender had offered her.

"Nah, it wasn't that bad. Well not for me, Aryn got stuck in customs because-" quite suddenly Isis went silent and she had the distinct look that she had just said something that she shouldn't have. Everyone picked up on this and everyone quite wisely began asking whether she was up for classes the next day. Meanwhile Harry chanced a glance back at Aryn Black and chewed a little harder on his Apple fritter when he saw who had shuffled down to sit next to her.

Malfoy was talking to her heatedly; that much was quite obvious. And it was also obvious that he was speaking so low that no one else could hear because he was right at her ear and Goyle was currently trying to listen in without looking conspicuous, which given his size, was not working well. Aryn was looking down at her half eaten piece of chocolate cake with disdain as Malfoy continued to talk in her ear. Finally she shoved the desert away, turned to Malfoy, spat something back at him, and pulled her hat down a little more securely on her head before she got up and walked out.

Everything was silent, even the teachers' table, as she marched out of the Hall. Isis rolled her eyes and continued to prod at her bit of trifle that was left on her plate. Once the Great Hall's doors shut, an angry buzzing that was all too familiar to Harry started up, and on everyone's lips was –

"Did you see her…"

"…what's wrong with her?"

"…she's a Black, I bet she's gone off her rocker, that's all…"

"I heard she's almost got kicked out of school…"

Harry looked around as everyone gossiped about her brisk exit and he glared at Dean and Lavender as they listened to Parvarti talk about how she was talking to **her** friend at Salemtops and she'd talked about how Aryn Black was an unstable psychopath and that she'd given Mumbello's to whoever was supposed to come so that she could get out of there. Hermione of course also rolled her eyes at them and quickly told Parvarti that she was being quite stupid and should shut her big mouth. That did shut her up and Harry was oddly pleased.

He hadn't even spoken to Aryn, but she was related to Sirius somehow, maybe…maybe she was like him. Maybe she wasn't evil.

All he knew was that he had to talk to her.

After the feast they all wearily made their way into the entrance hall and began to ascend the stairs up to the Gryffindor tower. Harry and Hermione were walking with Isis who was looking around in awe as a staircase just above them began moving.

"Deadly." She said grinning around. Suddenly the staircase they had currently been climbing seemed to want to impress her more so it too began to move. They all grabbed the rail and Isis just smiled wider, her eyes sparkling deep purple. "This is mad cool." She said as the stairs came to rest leading up to another staircase that lead up to Gryffindor Tower.

"You said something about Quidditch." Hermione said as they began climbing again. "Do you play?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" she said after she waved to a portrait of a particularly handsome warlock who had winked at her. "Yeah I'm a Chaser for my house. Used to be a Keeper but I got sick of it. I'm actually pretty decent at Chasing." She said matter-of-factly, neither bragging nor trying to be modest.

"That's brilliant." Ron said just behind them. "We've lost all our good Chasers."

"You'll definitely have to try out!" Harry said smiling encouragingly. Isis blushed but nodded. She did that a lot around him, Harry had begun to notice, which in turn made his cheeks turn a bit pink.

"You have houses over in America too?" Neville called from a little ways ahead of them.

"Yeah, three of them. Keller, Nightingale and Fry. They're named after three really important witches who posed as Muggles. Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry." Isis listed off as they approached the portrait of the fat lady, which was already opening.

"Elizabeth Fry… oh she was the one that sorted out that witches prison…" Hermione said slowly.

"Raggletomb, yeah they had a lot of problems there. But I hear it was nowhere near as bad there as it is for women in Azkaban. But before she could go overseas to visit, she became ill and died. Really unfortunate. She did wonders in Raggletomb." As soon as they entered Gryffindor common room, Isis looked around approvingly. "You know, I think I'm really going to like it here." She said slyly as she eyed the Wizard's Chess sitting in between two plush maroon armchairs.

"Anyone for a quick game?" Ron asked, seeing how interestedly Isis was gazing at the chess board.

"Not me, I'm off to bed." Said Hermione who stretched and yawned. In fact, almost everyone was heading straight for their rooms, too full and tired to think about staying up any longer. Isis nodded and gave Ron an apologetic look.

"I'm going to bed too then. Maybe I'll beat you tomorrow though." She laughed at the look on Ron's face as she said this. Harry grinned too.

"Alright, night you two." He said.

"Goodnight Ron. Harry." Isis's eyes lingered on Harry a moment longer before she followed Hermione up to the girls' dormitories. Ron let out a heavy sigh.

"She's a looker, isn't she?" he said collapsing into the armchair when he was sure they were out of earshot. Harry laughed as he took a seat next to him.

"Yeah. Yeah she really is very pretty." He agreed. Ron shook his head.

"It'll never happen, mate. Not with me at least. She was too busy staring at you like you were some pile of Galleons with her name on it." He said with an air of misery. "You always get the girl."

"Oh shut up." Harry said before he launched the chair's pillow at Ron, which hit him square in the face. "She's no more likely to go out with me than you."

"Thanks." Ron said falling back into the chair.

"Welcome." Harry shot back.


End file.
